Under The Dome: An Initial (Unfavorable) Reaction

I posted briefly about this on Twitter last week, but I felt it needed at least a brief post of its own.  This is for anyone who's read OR watched (or both) Stephen King's Under the Dome!

I do like that this mirrors the cover art so closely!

So readers (and watchers)...what do you think of the TV miniseries so far?  (I fully promise that I will manage this discussion without any spoilers!)  This question is coming from someone who absolutely adored the book, so I guess I should say that up front.

After the first episode, I was intrigued.  Several things had changed from the book, but it was early enough in the story that I wanted to see where the producers were going with it.  However, by the end of the second episode, they were starting to lose me.  The changes, I think, are having too much effect on the feel of the story as a whole.  A lot of this is character driven.

First and foremost: Barbie (Dale Barbara) and his new background story.  In the book, Barbie didn't kill anyone before the dome dropped, and certainly not Julia's husband--because Julia didn't HAVE a husband in the book.  This completely changes Barbie's persona in the miniseries.  He's much more macho-mysterious-outlaw on TV, which I guess plays better for viewers than the mysterious-but-actually-a-pretty-decent-guy thing he has going on in the book.  Anyway, it's clear they want every female character on the show (and viewer?) to find him bangable, so I guess mission accomplished, Hollywood.

My other character issue (so far) is with Junior.  They took so much horror out of his story!  Without giving anything away--his book character is much more menacing than anything they've portrayed on TV up to this point.  And it seems like they aren't going to work in a lot of his actions that they've already skipped over.  On TV, I feel like he just comes off as the overly-creepy boyfriend, but in the book, he is much more than that.  I really hope they amp this up.

The fact that this meme even exists says a lot.

The problem is, I'm not sure if I'll stick around to find out.  The third episode airs tonight, and I'm debating if it's worth my time to watch.  I'm just feeling so mehhhhhhhhhh about it so far...though there is a part of me that's curious to see what they do with the ending.

What say you, readers/viewers?  How do you like the miniseries so far?  Should I keep watching, or better spend my time watching House of Cards (new addiction!)  And if you read the book, how do you think it's stacking up?